Schindler’s List On the Market
A Hearty Greeting: Oskar Schindler (center) arrives at the Jerusalem Airport in 1962. Image by KEYSTONE/GETTY IMAGES
The only privately owned copy of Oskar Schindler’s list — which contains the names of 801 Jewish men, many of whom Schindler helped save from concentration camps — is now for sale online for $2.2 million.
A Hearty Greeting: Oskar Schindler (center) arrives at the Jerusalem Airport in 1962. Image by KEYSTONE/GETTY IMAGES
Gary Zimet, a historical document sales specialist, is selling the list through his Web site, www.momentsintime.org, on behalf of an anonymous seller.
Steven Spielberg’s movie “Schindler’s List” is based on a novel inspired by the story behind the document. German factory owner Schindler and his Jewish accountant, Itzhak Stern, compiled the list of names in order to save the Jews working in Schindler’s factory from being sent to the camps.
“This copy of the list originates from the Stern family,” Zimet told the Forward. The 14-page document contains the mens’ names, along with their ages and occupations. According to Zimet, there were seven onionskin copies of the list, only five of which are known to have survived. Among these five, there exist drafts with slight variations. This version, dated April 18, 1945, is the second to last.
The list is for sale on a first-come, first-serve basis. For those who think that $2.2 million might be slightly outside their budgets, Zimet said, “This is arguably the most important World War II document that’s ever been for sale.” Also for sale on Zimet’s site, announced on the side, in large bold letters, is “an extraordinarily rare signed photo of Oskar Schindler” and “Nazi Germany’s surrender agreement during World War II.”
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